HELPING BUSINESSES LOWER COST AND INCREASE EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION

WHAT DOES A BUSINESS WITH 25-500 EMPLOYEES NEED TO KNOW ABOUT BENEFITS?

Healthcare and employee benefits  continue to increase in cost and  complexity. As we navigate the  pandemic, it’s increasingly clear  that as workers evaluate employers  of choice, benefits have become a  key component. To help determine  your menu of benefits, tools such  as benchmarking and surveys can  provide insight.

Engage an experienced benefits  professional with national  resources. Form a partnership  with an advisor who can develop  a strategic plan based upon the  culture, needs and budget of your  business. The increasing cost of  coverage necessitates having a specialist who can provide national  buying power, innovative solutions,  technology, a deep service team, and  compliance resources.

The landscape is continuously  evolving. There are creative  strategies being deployed that  will shape the future of private  healthcare. One of the most promising, is directing patients to the  best doctors. We all know that there  are excellent doctors and doctors  who are not as good. The problem  has been — how do you know which  doctors produce the highest quality  results. Technology has allowed  systems to aggregate over 45 billion  records to help determine which  physicians are the top 20% – 25% in each geographic area. With this  knowledge, the benefit plan can  structure incentives to steer patients  to the best doctors. The result is  better outcomes and lower cost.  This tool can be implemented as  part of an existing fully insured plan  (or self-funded) that a business has  today. There is no need to change the insurance carrier’s network of  doctors. Via an app, web site or  concierge you can find a doctor who  has the highest rating in his/her  specialty.

Consider alternate forms of  financing health coverage. Risk  financing has evolved and companies  with as few as 25 employees have  ways to lower their premium. Many  factors determine if / when an employer should  consider one of the many forms  of partial self-funding that are  available. There are methods that  have very little risk or volatility,  such as a Health Reimbursement Arrangement (HRA).  Level premium  and minimum premium are hybrid  plans that allow an employer to save  money when claims are less than  expected. Partially self-funding may  be appropriate for many companies with as few as 50 employees. There  are features that diminish the risk  and volatility traditionally associated  with self-funding. These plans can  provide significant savings on Rx  expenditures, taxes, administration,  and reserves.

Communicate across the spectrum  of learning styles. Everyone has a preferred method of receiving  and processing information. Utilize  paper, video, web, apps, one on one  counseling via in-person / virtual /  telephonic. Most people do not  engage with the healthcare system  until there is a problem. There are  now Healthcare Advocacy firms  that can guide employees to high quality providers, assist in obtaining  second opinions, discuss various  treatment options, help with  prescription drug issues, and a  variety of other services/support.